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Generation Women Sydney: Reckless, Raunchy and Rowdy This month, we invite our storytellers to tell us a tall tale about a time they were reckless or rowdy or raunchy … or all three! It could a story from a long ago or from last week. Expect to see their wild self, their fun self, their sexy self. Whatever they care to share, you won’t want to miss this superfine show, with all the bells and whistles. Generation Women is an award-winning cross-generational storytelling night founded in New York in 2017, Sydney in 2018, and Melbourne in 2020. Each month, six women of note read an original piece on a theme. Of those women, one is in her 20s, her 30s, her 40s, her 50s, her 60s, and her 70s+. Produced by Brooke Farmer & Donna Logue, Hopepunk Productions. Created by Georgia Clark. THE BERESFORD 354 BOURKE ST, SURRY HILLS NSW 2010 DOORS AT 5.45 PM, SHOW AT 6.30 PM

Bar Wars

From the 1980s to the mid 2000s Sydney's nightlife was unrivaled anywhere in the world. KIngs Cross and nearby Darlinghurst, mainly Oxford Street were chockablock with nightclubs and bars and more or less open 24 hours a day.
And then came the "lock-out laws" after 2 shocking deaths where 2 innocent men were hit by complete drunken strangers and died after hitting their heads on the pavement. Clubs put up the shutters at 2am.
It's hard to recall the number of night spots that have now vanished but the recent prestige 'Bar Awards' held last night in London tell the story. In the Central Business District of Sydney, exempt from the lock-out laws. 4 bars have been named in the top 50 best bars in the world:
The Baxter Inn in Clarence Street, Bulletin Place near Circular Quay, PS40 in Skittle Lane and Maybe Sammy in The Rocks.

Congratulations guys you had some pretty tough competition from around the world including some legendary drinking spots around the world including London, New York, Singapore and many many more.
And the Top Spot went to Dante in NY's Greenwich Village which is owned by two Australians, Nathalie Hudson and Linden Pride.

Mardi Gras Photo Special

Scooping up Awards

 A popular member of the Sydney's bright young things and all round nice guy Alex Zobotto- Bentley has won a number of awards for design as our exclusive snap shows.
Zabotto-Bentley who is also regularly featured in best dressed lists has, along with his design team scooped the pools at the Sydney Design Awards for a number of projects that includes the Gold for Event Design March into Merivale 2015, an event we simply love which is part of uber nightclub mogul Justin Hemmes' Ivy nightspot. They also won the  Gold for Interior Design for @trumpsspa and Silver for Event Design for SBS Upfront Presentations 201. And what a handsome devil he is  !

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The Tap Gallery in East Sydney, the one venue Whispers had never wandered near has closed it's doors forever. As evidenced by a pile of furniture left on the footpaths outside the gallery and - true to the word of the director, paintings flung into a rubbish skip and piled up outside the gallery for passersby to pick through. Such is life  in the Art World.

Over Here & Over Priced

It's a perfect example of how Australian property prices, especially in Sydney are sky-rocketing. With just an average suburban house, inner city terrace or a Redfern apartment now costing up to $1M, Iona , the gorgeous residence of Academy Award winning film duo Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin has gone on the market for a whopping $16M US with the pair moving permanently to New York.
Whispers has been to the property twice, once before Baz bought Iona and it was fairly run down and once for a garden party given by the pair. We managed to peek inside and the decor is truly wonderful and an example of Catherine's exquisite taste.

But consider what their movie contemporaries pay in Hollywood or New York. Julia Roberts put her sensational NY penthouse on the market for $4.5M while fitness guru Russell Simmons picked up a stunning LA house for $5.8M. Meanwhile writer and actor Larry David purchased a huge mansion with 7 bedrooms & 9 bathrooms in the snooty Pacific Palisades with stunning water views for $15M (Iona may be in Darlinghurst but it has absolutely no views at all) and comedienne Rosie O'Donnell has listed her New Jersey mega mansion for sale at just $7M while mega star George Clooney & Amal Alamuddin paid an affordable $16M for a 300 year old Grade II listed Georgian mansion in a five-acre islet in the River Thames west of central London.

Winners are Grinners

Meet Sarah Salmon (pictured right) who last night picked up the Veuve Clicquot 2015 Business Woman  Award in the New Generation section (those under 40 years of age)

Sarah along with her mum Jan Slater from Swan Hill in Victoria have spent nine years building up their business, Simply Rose Petals. 
Together with a small staff they freeze dry the petals and ship them around the world to customers for all sorts of occasions. Rose petals are popular for weddings and being biodegradable they won't ruin or stain a bride's dress or leave any mess for an aging vicar to sweep up. They've even supplied petals for the opening of a US  department store.
 We think Sarah deserves her award- she wins a trip to France. And guests at the awards party in East Sydney got to toast Sarah with Veuve Clicquot Rosé (naturally) and vintage champagnes and that is  a very good thing.   Check out the Simply Rose Petals' website here.

Bar De Thé opens

A smart new bar Bar De Thé opened last night in Victoria Street, Darlinghurst. Here are some snaps from the opening party. It's all very swish and pretty nice and a welcome addition to Sydney's nightlife.

Croc-A-Dyke Dundee

 A new film has been released on DVD charting the life of the legendary woman about town Dawn O'Donnell who died in 2007.
O'Donnell became an international skating star in her 20s before returning to Sydney to open one of the cities first gay bars in 1968, the Trolley Bar off Broadway. It was one of many that were to follow mainly in the Darlinghurst area and Oxford Street- Jools, Capricios, Ruby Reds and Patches along with steam baths, sex shops and pubs. Blessed with a canny business ability and extraordinary good luck: many of her night spots were inexplicably burnt down as the public tired of them while O'Donnell had sensibly taken out generous insurance policies.                                                                     
She partnered in some venues with the late 'Mr Sin' Abe Saffron (above right) and the French nightclub owner Roger Claude Teyssedre who passed away from AIDS. Teyssedre's lover who was suspected of smothering Roger Claude and who inherited his fortune was mysteriously murdered 2 years after Teyssedre's death. O'Donnell's Imperial Hotel was the setting for scenes in the film Priscilla Queen of The Desert. The DVD is available at the Tool Shed at 81 Oxford St. Darlinghurst.

Sweet Charity ; the new Hayes Theatre

Morning TV host and singer David Campbell has opened a new cabaret theatre in Kings Cross : the Hayes Theatre named after Aussie stage legend Nancye Hayes.

David with wife Lisa and dad Jimmy Barnes and Jane Barnes

On Tuesday Campbell hosted an intimate soiree for around 30 including the Lord Mayor Clover Moore and we were treated to a number from the opening presentation, Sweet Charity. And it was superb. With just a little over 100 seats not only do the audience have a superb view of the stage but this was a full blown number that is usually viewed by a few thousand . In such an intimate setting, it's no wonder nearly every performance is sold out. coming up in late February, Last Of the Red Hot Mamas.
David's dad, rocker Jimmy Barnes was also there and how wonderful to see Piper Heidsieck Champagne come on board as a sponsor for this new and badly needed theatre venture. Go to their website for more info.

  right : Nancye Hayes with Lord Mayor Clover Moore

Kings Cross Lights Up !

A party tonight on the new outdoor deck at the Mecure Hotel in Kings Cross kicked off the 2012 Kings Cross Festival that sees 4 days and nights of events in the one acre area that comprises the Cross, parts of Darlinghurst and Potts Point.

Stephan Elliott

Dozens of restaurants , coffee shops and retailers are joining in the celebrations along with pubs and nightclubs. At last count there were over 40 nightspots alone in the Cross and it's side streets. The change the Cross has been going through over the past 5 years has been remarkable. New apartment blocks are springing up like the old Metropole Hotel that has been transformed into million dollar luxury pads.

Glynis Trail Nash,Damien Woolnough,Jennie Brockie

Darlinghurst Road, a past base for drugs,criminal gangs, strip clubs and prostitution rings still has it's gaudy neon strip facade. Turn into elegant Macleay Street and it could be a tree lined boulevard in Paris with it's elegant Art Deco apartment blocks, restaurants , boutiques and decorating shops.

Ignatius Jones & pal

Rebel Russell & Max Rendall

Over the next 4 days until Sunday there will be non-stop activities with a great artistic team under the umbrella of Ignatius Jones who has designed Sydney's famous New Year's Eve celebrations at the Opera House. Fashionistas Damien Woolnough and Glynis Trail Nash have organized a pop-up fashion store, Sebastian Goldspink is curating art shows while man about town Alex Zabotto-Bentley has created installations and window art in 22 store windows. Mandy Sayer and Madame Lash will be giving literary talks.

Margaret Fink & Warren Fahey

Legendary Les Girls performer Carlotta is presenting a one woman show while music legend Warren Fahey has organized several music events including buskers and a big show on Saturday night beginning at 6pm in Fitzroy Gardens with the great songbird Renee Geyer (the lurve Renee in Germany )                                                                                       
At the party tonight along with Lord Mayor Clover Moore were many from the diverse Kings Cross' community that numbers around 20,000 and makes it the most populous area in the country. 3 Hollywood Oscar winning filmsters : Margaret Fink , Rebel Penfold Russell and Stephan Elliot , SBS presenter Jennie Brockie and journalists like Melissa Hoyer, Richard Akland and Australia's top foodies Jill Dupleix and Terry Durack.
Go to the Kings Cross Festival website to get a full list of activities and travel arrangements.
Below : a time lapse video of Kings Cross by the creative team at Virtual Network : www.thevirtualnetowrk.com.au

Earth To Sydney Confidential

The old Darlinghust Gaol built in 1840 must have been a foreboding thought for those sentenced to be housed there by the nearby Darlinghurst Criminal Court where the more sensational murder cases are still conducted today.
Being banged up in the tiny and claustrophobic cells for life (for those who avoided the gallows) would have been a mind destroying experience.

These days the Gaol hosts a variety of schools in the arts and catering fields and  it's a lively place of learning.
Last week the National Art School housed there held a fundraiser attended by a number of leading artists including this year's Archibald winner Tim Storrier and, as Rupert Murdoch's top selling Daily Telegraph put it : "revered artist John Olsen".
Accompanying the story is the above photo with the caption " Ros Packer and Tim Storrier."
For the record : this is artist Tim Storrier ( the artist above is John Olsen) at the right :

..and at left  is Ros Packer (at the Bulgari party 2 weeks ago). Both feature often in the Shuttle. (they should read us more often as some leading UK newspapers do to source their stories)
 Rumours are flying thick and fast that a major staff crunch is coming at News Ltd in September and the fear and loathing at the Holt Street HQ is palpable. Perhaps they may re-think the notion of out-sourcing their sub-editing.

Kylie Conquers!

 At times the rain teemed down but it didn't dampen the spirits of a few hundred thousand people who lined Oxford Street for the 2012 Sydney Mardi Gras. And the Queen of the show was definitely Kylie Minogue with a four float tribute surrounded by over 150 dancers. Tonight the party rages on at Fox Studios and by Sunday afternoon Darlinghurst will be littered with sequins, lost stilettos and collapsed bodies.
Go to SMH for more great pics. (picture by Janie Barrett)

Sass & Bide Sunnies

The ever expanding Sass & Bide empire now incorporates some great sunglasses and they threw a small party at their elegant Paddinghurst boutique (..that's half way between Darlinghurst and Paddington on Oxford Street) to celebrate. The collection that costs from $260 to about $380 a pair include retro style sunglasses, big lense sunglasses as well as modern cool sunglasses which are all made in Italy with love!

 The designing duo Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton arrived fashionably late for their party.

Sass & Bide's Sarah-Jane and Heidi

a hug from Daimon Downey

Sneaky Sound System's :          Miss Connie Mitchell & Black Angus

To view the range go to the Eye Wear Boutique or Sass & Bide.